The invention relates to pressure sensitive adhesive products, particularly stretch removable adhesive articles. Preferably, such articles are for use in adhering to skin or like delicate surfaces. Stretch removability occurs as a result of the selection of a stretch removable adhesive, i.e., one that has sufficient internal strength that it can be gripped and removed on its own even in the absence of a backing, or as a result of the selection of a stretch removable backing, i.e., a backing that allows a construction that includes a weaker adhesive to be removed by stretching.
Pressure sensitive adhesive tapes and the like are used in a wide variety of applications where there is a need to adhere to skin, for example, medical tapes, wound or surgical dressings, athletic tapes, surgical drapes, or tapes or tabs used in adhering medical devices such as sensors, electrodes, ostomy appliances, or the like. A concern with all these adhesive-coated products is the need to balance the objective of providing sufficiently high levels of adhesion to ensure that the pressure sensitive adhesive products do not fall off, while ensuring that the underlying skin or other delicate surface experiences a low amount of trauma, damage, or irritation during use and/or removal. These goals are generally conflicting. Many approaches have been suggested to balance these conflicting goals; however, there still remains a need for products that effectively do so.
For example, film-backed, normally tacky, pressure sensitive adhesive tapes that are highly stretchy and elastic are known that can be easily removed from a surface by stretching the tapes lengthwise in a direction substantially parallel to the plane of the surface. For such tapes the adhesion capability substantially disappears as the film is being stretched. If such tapes are too elastic, they may exhibit large recoil when the stretching force is removed, which can be undesirable. Additionally, highly elastic tapes tend to substantially recover their original shape when the stretching force is removed, and they are therefore not useful for indication of tampering or for guaranteeing single uses for hygienic purposes.
Such so-called “stretch release” or “stretch removable” adhesive constructions include backings having stretchabilities that typically match those of the adhesives. Other backings of differing stretchability can be used by using a pre-treated/damaged backing having a strength that is inconsequential in the stretch removal process and an adhesive that is substantial enough to alone support the stretch removal process, i.e., a stretch removable adhesive. Although many of such constructions are useful, there is still a need for stretch removable adhesive articles, particularly those that can be easily removed from a surface such as skin or other delicate surface without a significant amount of pain, trauma, damage, or irritation.